Top 7 reasons why a canopy improves an Early Years setting

Due to Ofsted recommendations, providing a sheltered outdoor area is fast becoming a must-have addition to a nursery or pre-school environment.

Installing a canopy is a perfect and easy way to provide sheltered outside space which will help you conform to Ofsted requirements. But pleasing Ofsted isn’t the only benefit you’ll get from providing a sheltered outdoor space with a canopy…here are just some of the reasons to incorporate one into your setting:

The Benefits

1. Easy Free-Flow Play
You can provide an enhanced “free-flow” environment which gives children and staff easy access to the outdoors all year long.

2. More Space
It provides you with more play or teaching space – and is an ideal area to conduct messy activities such as painting or play with water and/or sand.

 3. Safe and Dry
Keeps play areas slip free in wet or icy weather by keeping the area dry and free from standing water – saving you time in the morning clearing the area

4. Sun Safety
A canopy creates instant shelter from harmful UV rays – ideal if you have no natural shelter from trees or nearby buildings – research shows that over exposure to sun at an early age can increase the risk of skin cancer in later life (read more about this on Cancer Research’s website here). It can also help encourage children to stay safe in the sun by seeking shade during the sunniest/hottest parts of the day (read more about this advice on the Met Office’s website here)

5. Keeping Cool Indoors
A wall mounted canopy or a free standing canopy placed close to a building can shade the interior buildings from direct sunlight glare and help keep classrooms cooler by reducing the heat from the sun from entering through the windows

6. Easy Access Storage
It can provide a dry area to store outdoor play equipment to keep it dry and ready to use. With the addition of roller shutters to a canopy you can provide added protection to your building and ensure the area and equipment is securely stored out of hours, which is ideal if equipment is too heavy or cumbersome to lift far and/or storage space inside is limited.

7. Enjoy Outdoor Eating
You can also use the canopy area as an outdoor eating area for children to enjoy their lunch or snacks – very useful if your setting lacks a dining area – and you don’t have to worry about cleaning up the crumbs! It can also be used by parents as emergency shelter in sudden downpours when they come to collect or drop off the children – very useful in the unpredictable UK weather.

Here is what some of our customers said about the opportunities that their canopies have given them:

“The canopy has made a big difference to how we use our outside area and also added an attractive space for our children to play safely out of the sun and they can be outside in all weather conditions. We had no shade or protection from the weather and the canopy has given us this…”
Pre School Manager – Little Clacton Pre School – Essex – View installation

“Having our awning in place has made a huge difference to our pre-school. The children are able to have much more access to the outdoors, which they love. We have been able to do more outdoor activities such as planting seeds and growing vegetables, and offer new fun and stimulating learning opportunities whilst enjoying the benefits of being outside. It is even better than we anticipated and we have received lots of positive feedback from the community. The children love it and we have been able to build it into a learning opportunity for them as they recognise the importance of keeping safe in the sun.”
Pre School Manager – Freethorpe Pre School – Norfolk – View installation

“The new canopy has transformed our outdoor area, enabling us to use the space as an outdoor classroom where children can play in showery weather or be shaded from the heat of the sun. Equipment is now able to be set up permanently outdoors as it is able to be kept dry…”
Head Teacher Batford Nursery School  – View installation

“The Chalet School is a small special school for nursery and primary children, all of whom have autism. Our playgrounds are great but have no cover, from sun, rain, snow or hail! Able Canopies constructed 3 canopies for us in 2006, which have not only provided much needed cover, but have also kept the classrooms cool in the summer months. We have been so pleased with the canopies that we have just ordered another one, to enable our “littlies” to play out in all weathers!
Head Teacher, The Chalet School, Swindon – View installation

Read their full testimonials and many others here.

Able Canopies Ltd. design, manufacture and install canopies and shade structures
at schools, nurseries and educational settings to enable year-round
Free Flow Outdoor Play and Outdoor Learning.
For more information please contact us

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